


Welcome to the Velvet Room

by katmandoody



Category: Persona 4, Persona Series
Genre: Game Spoilers, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-14
Updated: 2016-11-05
Packaged: 2018-06-02 03:31:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6548872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katmandoody/pseuds/katmandoody
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yu Narukami is sent to stay with his uncle in the small town of Inaba, but things get strange as he encounters murders, a TV world, and a weird blue room. The only people who seem to know what's going on are a cryptic long-nosed man and, on occasion, his assistant, a boy named Yosuke Hanamura.</p><p>A story in which Yosuke is the (best) worst Velvet Room assistant ever.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so this is my first time posting ever... so please be gentle. I apologize in advance for mistakes and I won't be adhering strictly to canon, but there will eventually be spoilers. The rating may change later on, I don't know yet. Hope you guys enjoy it!

“Welcome to the Velvet Room,” said a man with bulging eyes and the biggest nose he had ever seen. He assumed he was in the back of a car, big enough to be a limo, and everything was upholstered with blue velvet. The car was rumbling beneath his feet and fog pressed up against the windows, too dense to make anything out. Was this a dream? What was going on? The squat man with the huge nose had been droning on about fate and contracts or some other cryptic stuff, but Yu’s attention was suddenly caught as the man gestured to a boy sitting near him. Yu had been so overwhelmed, he hadn’t even noticed him.

“…And this is my assistant,” said the man (Igor apparently) in an almost apologetic tone.

“Hey, name’s Yosuke Hanamura, I’ll be helping you out. Whatever you need, just let me know,” said the boy, Yosuke, with a grin. He wore a strange two-toned blue suit that must have been tailored specially for him with how snug it fit and some bulky blue headphones were draped around his neck. A matching blue cap sat on top of his reddish brown hair. Yu was feeling more confused by the second. He looked like a normal boy, but the situation was anything but normal. It was almost comical to see him sat next to the strange goblin-like man.

“So what’s your name? The Boss must’ve forgot to ask, he is getting up there in the age department,” Yosuke said as if there was nothing out of the ordinary about the whole situation, just like they were two people meeting on the street, not in the back of a strange blue limo with a big-nosed man. Igor sent the boy a deprecating look, which went completely unnoticed by the other.

“I was getting to that. You lack patience, as always,” Igor said almost to himself.

“…Yu Narukami,” he finally responded to Yosuke, following Yosuke’s lead to ignore Igor’s obvious displeasure. The other boy cracked a smile and his brown eyes twinkled in the dim blue light.

“Yu, huh? Nice to meet you. We’ll be working together soon so, until then!” Yosuke said in a friendly voice and a little wave of his white-gloved hand.

“I’m the one that must dismiss our guests! It’s in the handbook I gave you,” Igor said in a sharper voice, and when Yosuke failed to reply, “You did read the handbook I presume?”

“Uh…” Yosuke rubbed the back of his neck and averted his eyes from Igor’s bulging ones. Igor gave a little huff in response and then the whole scene was fading until everything was black. Yu was left completely bewildered with a mild headache when he finally opened his eyes, but he couldn’t help but feel intrigued as he gazed out of the train window.

 

Inaba was a small town in the middle of nowhere. Yu was soon settled in with his uncle and niece and beginning his school life at Yosagami High. He had instantly made friends with a couple of girls from his class, Chie and Yukiko. He hadn’t encountered the strange blue car or its inhabitants since his arrival, but it was never far from his mind. When Chie suggested they check out a weird rumor about a midnight channel on TV, he and Yukiko agreed, but he couldn’t keep himself from feeling foolish as he stood in front of the blank screen in his room late at night while the rain gently tapped against the window. That instantly left his mind as the screen flickered to life and a strange blurry picture took shape. Almost instinctually, he reached out to touch it. He watched in disbelief as his hand failed to meet any resistance, ripples spreading from where it disappeared. This wasn’t right, was his hand… inside of his TV? Before he could pull it back, a deep booming voice spoke.

“I am thou and thou art me.”

                It was over as quickly as it began and Yu found himself on the floor breathing hard, gingerly touching his hand. What just happened? He shook his head slightly and climbed to his feet. A lot of strange things had been going on lately, the weird blue car dream and now this. Could they be connected…? Maybe he was just tired. He idly wondered if Chie and Yukiko had seen the same thing as he climbed into his futon. After a few minutes of tossing and turning, his eyes grew heavy and he fell into a deep sleep.

                The car was gently shaking beneath his feet and he was surrounded by an eerie blue glow. The two from last time were sitting across from him on the long velvet car seat. Igor had his hands folded and stared at him intensely while Yosuke seemed to be preoccupied with listening to music. Yu wasn’t sure the boy had even noticed him yet.

“Ah, welcome to the Velvet Room. It seems you are awakening to your new power, the power of Persona-“

“Hey, welcome back, Yu! So you finally got your powers? Pretty weird, right?” The boy in the blue suit, Yosuke, interrupted when he finally noticed Yu as if he wasn’t even aware of Igor talking next to him. He probably wasn’t with how loud that music had been playing. Igor glared in Yosuke’s direction as the boy pulled off his headphones to rest around his neck.

“Yeah, I guess. What exactly is going on here, I don’t really understand,” Yu said, thinking of his hand sliding into the TV screen.

“Allow me to explain, you see, the power of Persona harnesses the power of your true self and the bonds that you will create on your journey,” Igor began and his long-winded explanation only created more questions for Yu. He noticed Yosuke looked pretty bored with the whole thing, even yawning a couple of times, his eyes going glassy. How often had he heard this speech or was it just Igor? The long-nosed guy was pretty boring, strange and creepy, but boring nonetheless. Yu realized Igor had finally fell silent, Yosuke looked like he was just waking up from a nap beside him.

“Yeah, so it’s like a cool superhero that fights for you and it gets stronger as you make friends. The Boss just likes to make things more difficult and _mysterious_ ,” Yosuke said conspiratorially with a roll of his eyes. Igor’s looked a bit bulgier.

“Right… So what am I fighting again?” Yu asked Yosuke.

“Oh man, I don’t think I’m allowed to tell you that stuff yet,” Yosuke said with an uncertain glance towards Igor, who stubbornly remained silent, “But I’m sure you’ll find out soon! And you can come visit us whenever you need help, just go through the weird glowing door.”

“Okay, weird glowing door, got it,” Yu said seriously with a decisive nod. Yosuke smiled in response and crossed his arms.

“You are taking this way better than I would if I was in your position. Well, anyway, that’s all for now, right?” Yosuke asked with a slight nudge to Igor.

“Yes, until we meet again, oh and please pardon my… _eccentric_ assistant. It’s a temporary solution until my other, more capable, assistant can return. We will just have to make due until her return,” Igor said with a smile, which was quite a disturbing sight. Yosuke protested with a “hey!” and his face turned to a light pink, noticeable even beneath the blue light.

“Actually, I think Yosuke has been pretty helpful so far,” Yu replied with a slight shrug. Yu couldn’t figure out which one of them looked more shocked by his comment, Igor or Yosuke. But then Yosuke was smiling a bright, satisfied smile, his cheeks still pink and Yu couldn’t look away. The other boy’s happiness was magnetic.

“Heh heh, thanks, man! And don’t worry, you can count on me! Those shadows don’t stand a chance- Oops! Forget that last part,” Yosuke said hurriedly and glanced at Igor with a guilty expression. He gave a nervous smile, but it wasn’t returned or even acknowledged by the long-nosed man. Yu could see sweat forming on Yosuke’s brow. That was the last thing Yu saw before everything once again turned black.

 

                Chie and Yukiko didn’t believe him when he told them how his hand had went into his TV. Yu didn’t really blame them, he was starting to doubt last night’s events, too. Regardless, they all agreed to go to the local supermarket Junes to find a big enough TV and test it out. He was already somewhat familiar with the store from Nanako singing the theme song every time one of the commercials came on. They gathered in front of the TV and when Yu stuck his whole arm into the screen, Chie and Yukiko were so startled that they ended up jostling him and all three went tumbling head first into the TV screen.

                What followed was a surreal blur. They met a stuffed bear named Teddie and found a room with torn up pictures and a noose hanging from the ceiling. Just as they were almost back to where they first entered, some sort of creatures attacked them. They were black and white sphere creatures with gaping mouths and dangling tongues. One used the slimy thing to lick Chie and throw her off balance. Yukiko was the next to be knocked down and soon it was just Yu standing alone. Were these the things he was supposed to fight? He didn’t have time to think about it as one of them lunged at him. Something surged in response inside of him and the word “Persona” was leaving his mouth before he knew what was happening. Suddenly there was an armored figure with a gigantic sword floating above him and he somehow felt a connection with it, he understood that this was a part of him. This was-

“Izanagi!”

                The fight was short-lived after that, Izanagi easily dispatched the enemies with blasts of lightning and powerful swings of his sword. So this was his Persona? Well, Yosuke was right, he did sort of look like a superhero. And these must be the enemies he mentioned- Shadows. Yu focused on helping the girls to their feet and, with the help of Teddie, they found themselves exhausted and confused, but still alive, right back in front of the TV’s in Junes. After some excited and disoriented chatter, all three of them went their separate ways with promises to meet back up soon. After school the next day, Yu said his goodbyes to Chie and Yukiko and set out to find the weird glowing door. The riverbank near the school didn’t hold any leads and the shrine was no good either. He was walking farther down the road in the shopping district checking out the stores when he found it. It was an ethereal blue door that seemed to be floating in midair. People walked past it without sparing it a glance. They couldn’t see it? Maybe you needed a Persona? Yu barely touched the door before being sucked in.

“Welcome to the Velvet Room.”

                Igor was there, ready and waiting, and Yosuke was sprawled along the seat reading a thick blue book covered in intricate designs. He looked up when Yu entered and instantly brightened.

“Long time, no see! So how’d it go? Did you use your Persona?” the boy asked excitedly, pushing himself up to a sitting position. His cap was a little crooked on top of his unkempt hair.

“Yeah, but I had no idea what I was doing. It all happened so fast. And those creatures- Shadows you called them- what are they and why did they attack us?” Yu asked.

“Well, uh, I guess that’s just what they do, you know? I don’t really know the details, but-”

“I thought I told you to familiarize yourself with the handbook and the Compendium. Just what have you been doing this entire time?” Igor asked with a sigh. Yosuke snapped the thick book closed beside him and moved it from view but not before Yu saw something colorful sticking out of it.

“Y-yeah, that’s what I was doing. It’s just hard to remember it all, there’s so many details-”

“A Velvet Room assistant must be able to provide information to its guests otherwise they will have no guidance, no direction, like a boat lost at sea. It’s your job to guide them,” Igor told Yosuke almost passionately, bloodshot eyes bugging out of his head.

“Okay, I get it, Boss. Geez, no need to get all worked up. Let’s see here,” Yosuke carefully flipped the book back open but Yu noticed he was careful to keep its contents hidden away, using his body to shield it. “Shadows, shadows… Shadows! ‘Shadows are corrupted and twisted aspects born of human emotions’, some other crap about negativity and energy manifestation. Yeah, I think that about covers it. So does that answer your question, Yu?” Yosuke looked up triumphantly from the book’s pages. His brown eyes seemed so hopeful and Yu just nodded his head dumbly. He didn’t have the heart to tell him that it didn’t really make any sense whatsoever.

“See? I can do this job, no problem!” Yosuke said to Igor with a smug smile plastered across his face.

“And just what is this? I don’t remember this being included in the Compendium,” Igor said and held up a glossy magazine covered in motorcycles. Yosuke had forgotten the open book on his lap in his excitement. A blush started spreading across the other boy’s cheeks.

“Um, well… That’s…”

“So this is the type of studying you have been up to, hmm?”

                Yu left not too long after that as the conversation quickly evolved into Igor lecturing Yosuke about the finer points of serving in the Velvet Room. Yosuke was enduring it, but didn’t bother to hide his obvious boredom with the subject. He fiddled with the big round buttons on his suit sighing and readjusted the white gloves stretched over his slender fingers with a faraway look. Walking home, Yu couldn’t stop wondering about the boy. Yosuke appeared to be a relatively normal high school-age boy. So why was he in the Velvet Room, a place that defied reality itself? The more he thought about it, the more he realized that he really wanted to know. He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his uniform and decided to himself that he would get to the bottom of it as he watched the sun sink into the horizon.

                The mystery behind Yosuke had to be put on the back-burner as another body was found in Inaba, some girl who had worked at Junes, after another showing of the Midnight Channel. Yu was still trying to wrap his head around the whole TV world and Persona stuff, but he didn’t hesitate to re-enter it with Chie, armed with some golf clubs she had lying around her house. They meant to search for the figure from the TV, one that had greatly resembled the murdered girl in Yu’s opinion, but things went south. They found a twisted version of the liquor store in town and a disembodied girl’s voice echoed through it once they entered. It kept talking about how fake the whole town had become, how she herself had become fake.

                And that was how Yu found out that Chie was really scared of ghosts. Terrified actually, Yu thought as he subtly attempted to pry the girl away from his arm. It was no use, she had his arm in a death lock. Maybe he should have brought Yukiko, he couldn’t imagine the dark-haired girl being shaken by a creepy voice. The voice finally stopped its bitter ramblings and he was able to coax Chie off of him, which she quickly did with lots of blushing and apologizing in a stammering voice. It just got worse from there as they ran into a huge Shadow in the back of the store. It resembled a faceless mannequin but its limbs were stuck on at odd angles and there were too many arms, each holding a head that wore a different expression. The fight lasted longer than he had hoped and they realized quickly that they had to concentrate their attacks on the heads the Shadow was holding before attacking its body. But with Izanagi and Chie’s surprising strength, the Shadow eventually let out a deep gurgling noise and disappeared into a cloud of thick black smoke.

“What was that thing just now? A monster?” she asked, out of breath.

“They’re called Shadows, they are corrupted human emotions… or something like that,” Yu replied with the corners of his mouth tilting up despite his fatigue, remembering Yosuke’s terrible explanation.

“Wow, you sure know a lot about it!” Chie said impressed.

“Not really, the boy in the Velvet Room explained it to me,” Yu said and Chie’s expression started to look a little concerned.

“Velvet Room? You sure you didn’t hit your head during the fight? Come on, we should go,” Chie told him and started pulling him towards the door.

                Chie was trying to act like it was purely out of concern for him, but Yu could tell she was still scared about the idea of a ghost girl hanging around so, covered in bruises and exhausted, they trudged their way back to the entrance, stopping only to talk to Teddie. The Investigation Team was formed soon after that, Yu, Chie, and Yukiko being its sole members. They were convinced now that the TV world was inextricably linked to the recent murders. They all agreed to continue watching the Midnight Channel and exploring the TV world. Was this part of his fate, his journey that Igor had talked about? To put a stop to the killing and find whoever was responsible? Yu didn’t really know, but he was determined to find out.

                The Investigation Team faced its first true test when Yukiko went missing. Chie was beside herself with worry, scouring the town and the Amagi Inn for any sign of Yukiko. Yu was almost getting used to her panicked texts in the middle of the night with more dead-end leads. The Midnight Channel confirmed Chie’s worst fears, Yukiko (or maybe he should say Princess Yukiko) had been taken like the other girl and soon she would end up the same way if they didn’t intervene. Who was doing this? Yu couldn’t see the point or how any of it connected. He focused on just getting Yukiko back, they could worry about the rest later. After school, he and Chie met at the busy Junes food court to get their plan straight and soon they were delving back into the TV world.

                Teddie was waiting for them. He warned them that he had found a new presence and was pretty sure he could lead them to it. Chie was eager to go, practically jumping in place, but Yu found his attention drawn to a familiar glowing blue door near the entrance. He was positive it hadn’t been there before and Teddie confirmed it saying that the door had just showed up a few days ago. He knew that going in at the moment was out of the question as Chie was barely holding herself back from dragging him away, not even paying attention to their conversation. He made a mental note to come back afterwards. Despite everything, the worry for Yukiko and the dread of the shadows they would probably have to face, Yu felt undeniably curious about what must be going on behind the weird glowing door. Specifically, what its inhabitants were up to.

                The place Teddie led them to was a tall menacing castle surrounded by thick hedges and radiating a reddish-pink aura. Yu barely had time to take in the sight before Chie was dragging him along, no longer concerned with formalities. Yukiko’s voice greeted them and he knew they were in the right place. The first few floors weren’t much of a problem, but Yu was feeling more and more drained with every fight and Chie could only help so much with only her physical strength to rely on. That problem was unexpectedly solved when they reached the next floor. There in the middle of the floor was an almost perfect double of Chie, but with golden eyes and spouting dark and hateful things. Most of it was about her relationship with Yukiko. Chie argued with it for a while in a shaky voice, denying its words, until she finally cracked, yelling “You’re not me!” The Shadow that appeared was even bigger than the one in the liquor store. It took everything out of them to beat it, Yu relying on Izanagi’s power so heavily that he was sure it was reaching its limit. Chie never gave up, kicking and punching with as much force as she could muster even though she looked dead on her feet.

                Finally, the creature disappeared after a final blast of electricity and the golden-eyed Chie was standing in its place. Yu felt sympathy and a greater understanding for the girl as she was forced to accept the truth behind the nasty things the doppelganger had been spewing. Almost as a reward, Chie received a Persona, Tomoe. Yu actually felt a little shocked, he was starting to think that maybe he was the only one with the power to wield a Persona, but he was also relieved to have someone else powerful enough to fight beside him. Chie was a good fighter, but there was only so much damage kicking could inflict on Shadows. They hadn’t found Yukiko, but they were both left without an ounce of strength in the aftermath of their battle and even Chie had to concede that it was best to call it a day. The way back was uneventful, but once they were at the entrance Yu couldn’t resist checking out the blue door.

“Uh, what are you doing, the exit’s over here,” Chie’s voice drifted over to him.

“Yeah, I’ll be there in a minute,” Yu said and his hand was already reaching out.

“Welcome to the- Oh, Yu! What’s up?” Yosuke said, blue cards fluttering to the floor. He had just been shuffling them deftly right before he realized it was Yu sitting across from him. There was no Igor in sight and Yu couldn’t imagine there was anywhere for him to hide inside the confines of the car. Especially with that nose. Yosuke glared at the cards littering the floor in front of him and muttered a few curse words under his breath before bending to scoop them up. Yu instantly dropped to his knees and started helping him gather up the fallen cards.

“N-no, you don’t have to do that!” Yosuke protested but Yu ignored him as he studied the cards in his hand.

                They were covered in pictures of what suspiciously looked like different Personas and had strange symbols on their backs. Wait, he had found some of these… He winced with a sharp inhale of breath as he reached for one that had found its way beneath one of the velvet car seats.

“Hey, are you okay? Oh man, are you injured?” Yosuke asked in a worried voice. His brown eyes, Yu could see they were lighter up close than he had previously thought, were filled with concern and scanned Yu’s body as if he was looking for wounds.

“It’s nothing. What are these? I found some on a couple of shadows earlier,” Yu asked, holding one up with a green pile of slime on it. Yosuke slapped a gloved hand to his forehead.

“That’s right, I gotta tell you about the fusing stuff,” Yosuke said and then, “But wait, the Boss isn’t here. Crap, I really don’t wanna mess this up,” in a panicked voice.

“I’m sure you will do fine,” Yu said with a small smile. Yosuke seemed to relax after that and returned Yu’s smile with a tentative one of his own. He took the cards from Yu’s hands, gloved fingers brushing against his. Yosuke sat back, straightening the cards into an orderly pile.

“Okay, but would you at least get off the floor? You don’t look like you’re in very good shape.”

Yu climbed back to his feet with only minor difficulty and took a seat next to Yosuke. He leaned in closer to get a better look at the pile of cards and the book Yosuke had pulled on to his lap. Yu wondered if he was imagining the pinkness spreading across the other boy’s face when he glanced at him.

“H-hey, give me a little bit of space here,” Yosuke said and Yu realized he must be too close. He wasn’t the best when it came to judging personal space.

“Oh, sorry,” Yu said and moved back some, hoping it was enough. Yosuke was still faintly pink but seemed more at ease.

“No big deal. So where to begin…? Persona cards can be collected on enemies sometimes and then you can bring them to me and we can fuse them together to make different cool ones. You can use any of them since you have the Wild Card and-”

“Wait, the Wild Card?”

“Yeah, the Boss already explained it to you, right? Oh wait, was I supposed to- Well, anyway it just means you can change your Persona whenever you want so you don’t have to use the same one all the time,” Yosuke explained while Yu tried not to feel lost.

“Right,” Yu nodded his head at Yosuke’s expectant face, “So what exactly is fusing again?”

Yosuke sighed with a dejected expression, “Ugh, I know I’m terrible at this, sorry. This is all pretty new to me, too. I never thought I would have to do something like this,” then, “But hey, we can learn about it together! It’s like we’re partners! Or fusing partners, at least,” he said in a brighter voice. Yosuke’s smile was contagious and Yu found himself smiling back at him like an idiot.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, it's only a small update because of school, but it's still something, right? Also, I plan on eventually covering the entire game so this may take a while. Thanks again for reading!

Rescuing Yukiko was turning out to be a lot more difficult than either he or Chie had ever expected. Not that he had really any idea of what to expect from rescuing someone from a TV, but still. On the bright side, Yu had become pretty good with Izanagi with all the practice he was getting and, thanks to Yosuke’s sort of helpful information, was now switching Personas whenever necessary to exploit the enemy’s weakness. He and Yosuke were still working on fusing, neither one of them really understood it yet, but that didn’t stop them from trying. They had been fusing random low-level Personas together, but Yosuke seemed to get bored with that pretty fast. He had decided they needed to aim bigger. Yu wasn’t as convinced.

“Dude, it could be sweet. Just think about it, Izanagi’s good right now, just imagine if we fused him. It would be like upgrading him!” Yosuke said, leaning forward on the seat, the Compendium teetering precariously on his knees.

“I don’t know…” Yu hesitated, not really wanting to disappoint the excited boy in front of him, but also not wanting to risk losing his most useful Persona.

“Look, if it doesn’t work out, we can, I don’t know, un-fuse him or something. It’s probably simple to do-”

“On the contrary, it’s quite impossible. And I would put that up, far out of _his_ reach, if I were you,” Igor interrupted, obviously unable to quietly observe the scene any longer. Yu considered the card he had just been about to hand over to Yosuke’s eager gloved hand and then Igor’s creepy face. Yosuke’s eyes still twinkled at him hopefully, but were quickly extinguished as Yu tucked Izanagi back into his pocket with a small shrug. Yosuke slumped back in his seat with a slight huff, the thick blue book falling to the floor with a thud, and crossed his arms against his chest.

“Boss, you always ruin all the fun. I bet it would’ve worked, too. Man, I’m getting bored of doing the same old stuff. I just wanted to see something cool for a change,” Yosuke complained and Yu had the feeling he wasn’t just talking about fusing. The other boy never left the Velvet Room from what he could tell. He was always there, waiting. He couldn’t imagine being stuck in the small space with only Igor for company, it almost made Yu shudder. And Yosuke seemed to get bored easily, he had no idea how the boy had been coping this long. Yu wondered for what had to be the millionth time about Yosuke. Who was he really and why was he in this room? Igor’s voice broke through his thoughts.

“Even I cannot sit idly by while you boldly pluck at the strings of fate. Fate may be inescapable, but-”

Yu recognized the signs of an oncoming Igor-fate tirade and quickly intervened, “So what if I brought you some higher level Personas that we haven’t fused before? Maybe we could make something even cooler.”

Yosuke still looked grumpy, but Yu could see interest spark in his eyes, “I don’t know, maybe…” Yosuke seemed to considerate it for a moment and the corners of his mouth began tilting up, “Yeah, okay. That could be pretty fun, I guess.”

They discussed it some more, Yu trying his best to coax Yosuke back to his excited self, and by the end of their conversation Yosuke was grinning and gushing about all of the “cool fusing” they were going to do together. Yu had to leave soon, he was already almost late for dinner with Nanako and Yu couldn’t stand to imagine her sad little face as she sat alone at the table. Dojima wouldn’t be there as usual. He stood up, preparing to leave, and he could see Yosuke’s expression fall, just a little. It was only for a fleeting moment and then his grin was back at full force.

“Leaving already? Well, just remember, get as many of those weird-looking ones as possible and maybe we can try out that 5-card thing next time!”

The following days were spent in a cycle of school, fighting Shadows in Yukiko’s castle, and trying to be home in time for dinner with Nanako. It was an exhausting routine, but it had to be done. Yu was determined to save Yukiko and find out who was behind all of this. Chie’s iron-clad determination only strengthened his resolve. She was constantly pushing to delve farther and farther in the castle, usually at a reckless pace with no regard for her own well-being. Yu had lost track of the times he had forced the girl to take a rest. The worry for Yukiko was obviously having a real impact on her, there were now dark circles around her eyes that hadn’t been there before. But, he had a feeling they were getting close and that it wouldn’t be much longer until Chie was reunited with Yukiko.

It was because of all this that he hadn’t seen Yosuke or the Velvet Room in days even though he couldn’t keep himself from wondering about how stir-crazy the other boy probably was by now. He didn’t really understand why the idea of Yosuke being bored and stuck with Igor in the Velvet Room bothered him so much. Well, they were friends after all. At least, that’s how Yu saw it. He tried not to dwell on whether the feeling was mutual or not. Yosuke was kind of a hard person to read sometimes. Yu had kept his word and been gathering as many “weird-looking” Personas as he could carry, which was surprisingly not that much. He had had less difficulty finding new and unusual ones as he and Chie made their way up through the sprawling castle. Yosuke would be pleased with seeing something different for a change, or at least he hoped. The next time he and Chie went through the Junes TV, Yu decided to stop at the Velvet Room. Chie had been confused the first few times she had seen him enter. Apparently he seemed to disappear into thin air and she couldn’t see the door either. He then tried to explain the Velvet Room to her, leaving out Yosuke, and she just looked at him like he had grown a second head so now they just avoided the topic altogether.

Yosuke was in his usual spot near Igor, but he was focused on something in his hands and his headphones were in place. Yu could hear the faint sounds of music. Igor welcomed him as always, but Yosuke was completely unaware of his presence. Yu carefully approached the distracted boy and then held out the cards he had been collecting for days in front of Yosuke’s downturned face. Yosuke jerked back in surprise, his eyes wide. Once he realized it was Yu, a smile quickly spread across his face and he pulled off his headphones.

“Hey, thanks, partner! I can’t believe you really got them!” Yosuke said, taking the cards from Yu with enthusiasm. Yu smiled at the nickname Yosuke had used jokingly at first during their fusing experiments, but it had quickly stuck. “I didn’t expect to see you. It’s been a while.” Yu’s smile fell away and he felt a small bit of guilt nagging at his insides.

“Yeah, sorry. I’ve been really busy,” Yu explained.

“I wish I could help you, but I’m stuck in here,” Yosuke said with a bitter tone lacing his words. Neither said anything for a few moments, then, “Oh, but the Boss finally gave me my phone back!” Yosuke in a more cheerful voice, holding up an orange cell phone. Yu realized that’s what Yosuke had been so focused on.

“A cell phone? Does it work in here?”

“Yeah. Well, I think so. Nobody’s really responded yet so…” Yosuke said in voice that progressively grew quieter as he studied the phone in his hand. Yu clapped him on the shoulder.

“I’m sure they will, just give it a little time,” Yu tried to comfort him, wondering who Yosuke was so desperate to talk to and kept realizing how little he knew about the other boy. Yosuke gave a forced chuckle that just came off as nervous and scratched his head.

“You’re probably right. Guess I’m getting worried about nothing,” Yosuke said with one last glance at his phone before tucking it away in the jacket of his blue suit. “So, let’s get started with this fusing. I really want to do something with this elephant-ear-dog-thing. What d’you think will happen if we fuse it with this brain guy?”

They fused all of the new cards and created some more abominations that Igor glared at with disapproval written all over his face. Yosuke was happily distracted from worrying about his phone and Yu couldn’t help but feel happy too. He felt like he was slowly getting closer to Yosuke, even though he still wasn’t even close to solving the mystery behind the other boy. It was with great reluctance that he prepared to leave. Chie was still waiting on him after all. That is if she hadn’t gone on ahead by herself. Just as he was about to leave, one look at Yosuke stopped him in his tracks. He was fidgeting with his gloves in his lap and looked like he was torn about something. Yu waited patiently for him to speak.

“H-hey, since I have a phone and stuff now, I was wondering maybe if you would give me your number? I mean, n-not in a weird way or anything, just like to have in case I need to tell you something important. It’s fine if you don’t want to-”

“Sure, that’s a good idea,” Yu interrupted Yosuke’s nervous rambling. Yosuke looked relieved, his cheeks still tinged with pink. They quickly exchanged numbers and with a promise to talk to him soon, Yu reached for the door.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, another update between school stuff. I don't entirely know where I am going with this, but I do have a sort of plan and the rest we will figure out together! I want to try to cover the main stuff from the games, but it's mainly from memory and I am reducing it a lot so I know it isn't 100% correct. Okay, I'm gonna shut up now.

 

“Hello?”

A yawn answered him, resonating through the phone against his ear, then, “You’re supposed to join a sports team, something about bonds. I wasn’t really paying attention, it’s too early for this junk.” The voice was grumpier than usual, but unmistakably Yosuke’s. He was calling pretty early since Yu had just been getting ready for school. Actually, now that he thought about it, it was the first time Yosuke had called him... and it was about joining a sports team at school? Probably another one of Igor’s cryptic orders Yosuke had to follow.

“Oh, okay.  So did you just wake up?” Yu felt a small smile pulling at his lips as he adjusted the phone against his ear and pulled a clean uniform out from his closet.

“Yeah, what gave it away?” the other boy still sounded a little disgruntled, but his voice was starting to take on its more characteristic playful tone.

“Where?” Yu blurted out without thinking.

“Where, what?” was Yosuke’s confused reply.

“I mean, where do you sleep? In the Velvet Room?” Yu was desperately curious about the other boy’s life. There were so many questions, but so few answers. Maybe Yosuke would just open up to him and explain the whole situation and then Yu would just have the whole murder thing left to solve…

“Ugh, hell no! I wouldn’t sleep in the same room as the Boss if you paid me! Can you imagine?” Yosuke’s voice was shrill through the phone’s speakers. In the silence afterwards, Yu could practically hear Yosuke shuddering in disgust at the images his own words had conjured up and he couldn’t help but do the same on his end.

“So where do you slee-”

“Gotta go, partner! Remember the sports team stuff!” The line went dead with a beep.

Yu ended up going with soccer on a whim, mainly because the uniforms looked more comfortable. He was never really that into sports, but he had played his fair share at the various schools he had attended over the years. He instantly doubted his decision when he was introduced by the P.E. teacher. The rest of the team openly resented his presence, glaring and insulting him loud enough for him to hear. The only friendly faces he encountered was a couple of boys, Daisuke and Kou. Yu quickly took a liking to them and they all ended up walking home together. Just after saying goodbye to the others, his phone vibrated in his pocket. He slid off his shoes, one hand digging in his pocket simultaneously. The screen read “1 new message” and he opened it immediately.

(5:53) how did it go? wat team did u join?

Yu sat down on the couch and tapped out a reply.

(5:54) The soccer team, was kinda put off by the basketball uniforms. It was ok. I made a couple of new friends.

(5:55) wats wrong w/ the basktbal unifrm? nd who maks a decisn on sumthn lik tat neway? Ooo, wer they girls? gues the boss will b happy w/ u bondn or watevr

(5:55) The material was unpleasant and too… distracting. No, both boys, I only have a couple of girl friends at the moment.

(5:56) ur so weird. wait u hav more thn 1 gf? wow dude, I cnt evn get 1, Im a losr wen it comes 2 girls. I gues it maks sens 4 a cool guy lik u tho

(5:57) It’s not like that, they are just friends. And why do you say that? Anyone would be lucky to date you, Yosuke!

Yu patiently waited for a response, flipping through the TV channels since Nanako wasn’t around to stop him. Maybe he had embarrassed him? But Yu genuinely meant what he said, Yosuke was fun to hang out with, had a good sense of humor, attractive. Definitely attractive. Yu swallowed hard and changed it to the weather channel. The forecast showed some rain and then fog next week. Hadn’t Igor mentioned something about that? They really needed to rescue Yukiko, he felt it more strongly than ever, and he really didn’t need to be distracted right now. But when his phone finally vibrated, he was checking it within seconds.

(6:19) haha, thx prtnr, ill txt u l8r, k?

(6:19) I’ll be waiting!

The rest of the evening passed quickly once Nanako and Dojima made an appearance. Yu and Nanako made dinner together and attempted small talk with Dojima, who was in a serious and untalkative mood as usual. They watched the game shows Nanako loved so much and then he went to his room to study. He spent a couple of hours working on the equations and formulas they had just covered in class before his phone vibrated against the wooden desk near his hand. Yu dropped his pencil and reached for it. He felt surprised for some reason that it was Yosuke again.

(11:16) bord, cnt sleep. tel me about ur old school

(11:17) Okay, which one?

(11:17) idk, how mny r there?

(11:18) Hmm… At least 9.

(11:18) whoa, wat?! r u lik a secrt agnt or somthn?

Yu spent a while texting Yosuke about his colorful school transfer history and explaining how his parents had to travel constantly because of their jobs. After he started talking about his parents, Yosuke didn’t respond and just when Yu was starting to think he had fallen asleep, the phone vibrated once again.

(11:43) I ws a transfr studnt at my last school, it relly sukd. i ws so mad at my parnts 4 makn us move

(11:44) It can be pretty difficult at first. So why aren’t you in school now?

(11:47) its relly hard 2 xplain, specialy since I dnt relly undrstnd it all myslf. Man, all this txtn hs made me relly tired im gona go 2 bed now, goodnite

(11:48) Goodnight, Yosuke

Wait, Yosuke was saying that he didn’t know why he wasn’t in school? So did that mean that he also didn’t know why he was in the Velvet Room? How was that even possible? It didn’t really make much sense and it was hurting his tired brain trying to understand it. Yu leaned back in his desk chair and rubbed his eyes. It was probably time for him to go to sleep, too.

The next day completely drove all thoughts of Yosuke the Unexplainable Mystery Boy from his head. They finally found Yukiko. He and Chie had been working diligently at clearing the castle and moving through the floors for days now. The girl had lost her patience long ago and they moved at an unrelenting pace. Teddie constantly chirped in their ears, worrying about their health. It paid off when they finally reached a set of huge ornate wooden doors and, after prying them open, found Yukiko standing in the middle of a cavernous room wearing the frilly pink dress from the Midnight Channel. Chie rushed to her side, calling out her name, but stopped in her tracks as an unnatural high-pitched giggling echoed through the room. Yukiko turned around to face them and Yu heard Chie gasp beside him. She had golden eyes just like Chie’s… Shadow had had. Yukiko ranted on about finding her Prince Charming before leaving them both standing there.

It was a few more floors until they found her again and this time she didn’t run away. The creature was still talking about a Prince Charming coming to save her and take her away from her life and her family’s Inn. The real Yukiko was slumped in front of it, sapped of strength, but with enough energy left to tell the Shadow that it wasn’t the real her. With those words, golden-eyed Yukiko transformed into a huge Shadow resembling a bright red bird in a golden cage. The fight lasted longer than any of the others they had fought so far. The Shadow mainly used fire and it was extraordinarily strong, knocking them off their feet several times. Luckily, Chie’s Persona had bufu and the ice was the Shadow’s weakness. Back and forth, they exchanged attacks, both parties giving as good as they got. It felt like hours had passed and Yu was dripping with sweat. He was also starting to get that familiar drained feeling when he called on Izanagi. The Shadow let out a wail after Yu and Chie piled on it to deliver a punishing attack. Shadow Yukiko was back and this time Yukiko accepted its words just like Chie had. Yukiko received a Persona of her own that strangely reminded Yu of the bird Shadow they had just fought. It was over pretty fast and then Chie was wrapping her arms around the other girl. Both of them clung to each other and it was only with great reluctance that they broke apart long enough to leave the Shadow castle behind them.

They made sure Yukiko was returned home safe and even then Chie insisted on staying with her, not wanting to let Yukiko out of her sight for a second. Yukiko was too tired and bewildered to even attempt an explanation of what had happened and Yu didn’t want to push her anyway. He was feeling lighter than he had in a while, relieved they had finally saved Yukiko from the TV world. He wandered around the town with no destination in mind, just enjoying the moment. Somehow, without even thinking about it, he found himself in the Shopping District standing in front of the blue door. Well, since he was here, he should probably check on Yosuke, he reasoned. It had been about a week since the last time he had actually visited him. He entered but instantly noticed there was a definite lack of Yosuke. Yu felt his stomach drop and the light feeling from earlier was gone. Igor was there, hunched over like a gargoyle with his perpetual grin.

“Welcome to the Velv-“

“Where’s Yosuke?”

“My assistant was feeling under the weather and I thought it best that he take a short leave of absence. Sorry for any inconvenience, but I assure you that I am perfectly capable of taking over his duties for the time being, actually more so since I actually have an idea as to what it is that I should be doing-”

“When will he be back?” Yu interrupted.

“Ah, that all rests within his hands as well as the undercurrents of fate that guide them. However, I don’t imagine it will be too long, he has recently become quite adjusted to his role here,” Igor said as unhelpful as ever.

Yu went home, uneasiness sitting low in the pit of his stomach. He sent a few texts off to Yosuke, but there was no reply. He tried to tell himself not to worry, Yosuke had just come down with something, but he kept remembering how weird Yosuke had acted after their last conversation. He really hoped the other boy was okay. He ended up nodding off at his desk with his phone still clutched in one hand.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, another short chapter. I'm just trying to do this whenever I have the time (end of the semester sucks).

Days passed with no word from Yosuke. Yu checked the Velvet Room every day after school with no luck. Yu was starting to think the boy had permanently left to… wherever it was that he went to when he wasn’t in the Velvet Room. He continued to text him with no response and it wasn’t helping the nagging anxious feeling he had about the whole situation. Then one day he was just back in the Velvet Room as if nothing had happened, lounging against the velvet upholstery in his form-fitting blue suit, matching cap knocked to the side to accommodate the headphones over his ears. Yu felt relief flood his body, some part of him had been scared that Yosuke had become the next victim of the TV murderer. This time Yosuke actually noticed him and smiled in Yu’s direction after removing his headphones.

“Welcome to the Velvet Room! Wait, are you that surprised to see me? You look like you’ve just seen a ghost!” Yosuke joked, but there was a tone of uncertainty in his voice.

“You did just disappear for days straight, where have you been?”

“Y-yeah, about that… I just needed to work some stuff out. It was no big deal, really,” Yosuke avoided meeting Yu’s eyes and practically muttered the last part.

“You could’ve told me, I was worried,” Yu said, one hand going to his hip.

Yosuke started turning red, “T-there was no reason for you to get worried, I can take care of m-myself, partner.” Yosuke fiddled with his headphones. Yu was still a little agitated Yosuke hadn’t given him some sort of warning before falling off the face of the planet, but it was hard to actually be mad at the other boy.

“So? Did you get it worked out?”

Yosuke sighed and slumped down in his seat, “Nah, not really. Margaret says to just take it slow, but what does she know about it? I mean, it’s not her life.”

“Wait, who’s Margaret?”

“U-uh, that’s… I’m not entirely sure myself, but she has been helping me. I think. Look, it’s a really weird situation that I don’t really understand yet, but I’m working on it,” Yosuke told him before falling silent. He inspected the floor with bright pink cheeks and awkwardly picked at his gloves. “I hope y-you’re not mad or anything, I p-probably shoulda said something but I didn’t have my phone at the time a-and-”

“It’s fine, Yosuke. I’m just glad you are okay,” Yu’s smile came easily after seeing the other boy so flustered and what he could only assume was his roundabout way of apologizing. Yosuke finally met his eyes and timidly returned the smile.

“Yeah, well, I dunno how okay I am or anything, but… Thanks, y’know, for being worried and stuff. Most people wouldn’t bother worrying about someone like me,” Yosuke said almost bitterly.

“You don’t need to thank me, Yosuke. We’re friends,” Yu told him, finally taking a seat near Yosuke, this time being careful to give him some space. The other boy went still and his brown eyes widened.

“Friends?” Yosuke asked quietly, looking doubtful for a moment and Yu wondered why. Hadn’t he made his feelings clear? After all of the time they had spent together, it seemed pretty obvious. Or at least to him. “Yeah… Yeah, you’re right! From now on, I’m going to be the best friend you could ever ask for, partner!” Yosuke looked determined and at least marginally happier.

“Ah, the deepening of bonds is truly something to behold,” Igor said from his corner.

Yosuke groaned, “And you just had to go and make it creepy, didn’t you, Boss?”

They spent some time working on Persona stuff, fusing cards and trying to figure out what exactly they should do with the piles of skill cards Yu had collected from Yukiko’s castle.

“Whatever do you use that handbook for? The proper handling and registering of skill cards is covered quite extensively-”

“Dude, let’s just try using all of them at once and make a Persona that’s super-powered!”

“Oh, we can do that?”

“No.” “Probably!”

Yu eventually left with a promise to see Yosuke again soon (“And don’t forget to text me some time, I have my phone back now!”). He still didn’t understand what was going on with Yosuke. It apparently involved a woman named Margaret and Yu tried to ignore the small pang of jealousy that Yosuke had obviously felt close enough to her in order to involve her in something that he wouldn’t even talk to Yu about. But, he was still satisfied knowing that Yosuke was okay, he hadn’t been thrown in to the TV world or strung up to a telephone pole. Those images didn’t sit well with him and he shook his head as if to erase them. The sky was already dark when he started walking home and the only source of light was from the glow of the streetlights. Nanako was waiting up for him with dinner already prepared. When he finally went to bed, he had his first good night of sleep in days.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another one

Yukiko was back in school with Chie a constant presence at her side. Yosuke had started texting him again and it felt like things were back to “normal”, even though Yu had no idea when he started thinking of this place or these people as normal. The meager Investigation Team assembled on the school rooftop against a brilliant orange sunset in order to discuss Yukiko’s kidnapping. Yu wasn’t too surprised when he learned Yukiko couldn’t remember anything about it or the killer’s identity, he didn’t think it was going to be that easy. So it was back to checking the Midnight Channel and waiting for the killer’s next move. He wouldn’t be waiting idly though, he had plenty to distract him between studying for upcoming exams, joining the drama club, attending soccer club, taking care of stray cats, and acting as Chie’s training partner whenever necessary. He had been considering a part-time job, but it was going to have to be put on hold at least until after midterms.

Golden Week was soon upon them and Nanako had already made about a million plans over the past week for it, her eyes big and sparkling with excitement every time she told him all the things they were going to do together. So when Dojima inevitably called and told her he wasn’t going to be able to take the time off, it was a big blow that left the girl pretty devastated even though she put up a good front. Luckily, Chie showed up not too long afterwards and, together with Yukiko, they were able to cheer Nanako up with a trip to her beloved Junes. The bright sunshine certainly helped, Yu couldn’t see how anyone could be unhappy for long on such a beautiful day. It seemed to improve Nanako’s mood as they made their way to the supermarket. She chattered away to them about the things she had been learning in school. They actually had a lot of fun just eating at the food court and talking to each other at the plastic tables. Yu was still worried about cheering Nanako up, but the vibrations in his pocket kept catching his attention. It wasn’t long before he gave in. Yosuke had been sending him pictures of some sort of scooter and gushing over its "specs". Yu didn’t really get it, but Yosuke seemed pretty excited about it.

(1:21) and it has a 150cc air-cooled single so wat do u thnk? prety cool rite?

(1:23) Yeah, it looks nice.

(1:23) nice?! partnr, its not suposd 2 b nice its suposd 2 look badass. grls luv guys who ride motrcycls

(1:24) You don’t need a motorcycle to make someone like you, Yosuke. Just be yourself!

(1:25) I thnk thts ben my problm actully and ur compltely mising the point. we shold both get 1, u dnt evn need a licnse or nethng 2 drve 1

(1:26) Oh, so you want to go driving together?

(1:27) wel yea, i mean it shoud be fun

(1:27) But are you even allowed to leave the Velvet Room?

(1:30) I hadnt rely thot bout tht… but margaret did say tht I shoud b ready 2 soon so it should b alrite!

(1:31) Yosuke, about Margaret…

(1:31) lstn prtnr, im gona xplain it al 2 u as soon as I figur it out. o crap, g2g its th boss. txt u l8r

Yu sighed and put the phone back in his pocket. Of course Yosuke was being less than forthcoming about Margaret and her involvement. He had been pretty tight-lipped about his whole situation thus far, despite Yu’s attempts to wriggle information from the other boy. They talked, sure, but it was mainly about things like school or the TV world, which Yosuke had been surprisingly ignorant of, or music. How could he convince the other boy to actually open up to him? He had really hoped that after their last talk when Yosuke disappeared that it wasn’t going to be a problem anymore. And he really needed to know what the deal was with this Margaret and why she was always involved with the stuff Yosuke wouldn’t talk about. It was starting to become a bit irritating. Yu tried to tell himself it was all for the sake of figuring out the mystery boy and maybe somehow helping him, but it wasn’t very convincing even in his own head.

“You seem distracted, is something wrong?” Yukiko’s concerned voice roused him from his thoughts.

“Yeah, you’ve been looking at your phone an awful lot,” Chie said suspiciously then let out a short gasp, “No way! It’s not a girlfriend, is it?”

Yu tried not to smile as he imagined how Yosuke would react to being referred to as Yu’s girlfriend and failed. “No, not exactly.”

“Big bro’s always on his phone now, that’s why he burned the fried rice yesterday,” Nanako explained, using the new term of endearment for him as naturally as if it had always been his name. He felt a rush of affection for her even though she was telling his friends about the kitchen mishap that still haunted him. Burning food was unacceptable and Yu couldn’t remember the last time it had happened to him, but Yosuke had been texting him about some idol group he was obsessed with and it was kind of cute how passionate he was when it came to the music he liked. Yosuke had sent a picture of one of the groups that showed about five girls all wearing short skirts and stockings. For some reason, it made him suddenly wonder what Yosuke would look like in a skirt and then his fingers were moving on their own.

(5:46) Have you ever worn a skirt before?

(5:46) uhhhh wat kind of a qustion is tht? wher did tht evn com frm neway? u r so weird somtims

(5:47) I was just thinking that you would probably look good in one.

(5:57) thts not… ur not supposed 2 say stuf lik tht! I no ur jokin but ur being a litl creepy rite now dude

(5:58) Sorry, Yosuke. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.

(5:59) ha ha, no, its fine, its all good. Im not uncomfrtbl or nethng. U gota work on those jokes tho

So he really thought he was joking?

(6:00) I’ll keep that in mind.

(6:01) haha, u did hav me goin ther 4 a min

(6:02) But have you?

(6:02) …wat?

(6:03) Worn a skirt before?

(6:04) prtnr!!!!!!

 Before he knew it, a terrible smell was filling his nose. That’s when he noticed the bottom of the pan in front of him was now covered in a clumpy black mess, the fried rice was beyond saving. It was all scraped into the trash with a distinct feeling of failure on Yu’s part and Nanako helped him make a stir-fry instead. The worst part was that Yu never did find out if Yosuke had ever worn a skirt before or not. The question still plagued him.

“Oh, reallyyyyyy?” Chie shared a look with Yukiko before grinning at Yu, “So spill the beans, who is it?”

“He’s a friend. I’ve mentioned him before.”

Chie’s face scrunched up in a way that let Yu know that she was attempting to use her full thinking capabilities. “I don’t think so…” then it was like a light flicked on in the girl’s head, “You did say- but, wait, that doesn’t make any sense. Are you talking about the boy who helps you with the Persona stuff?” Yu nodded. “I kinda thought you made him up or something…” Chie said disbelievingly and Yu shook his head.

“Huh, and didn’t you say he lives in a furry room or-“

Something that sounded almost like steam bursting out of a pipe interrupted Chie. Beside her, Yukiko was struggling to hold in laughter with a hand covering her mouth. But then she was saying “furry room” to herself and laughing so hard that she had to grab on to Chie’s arm for support. Yukiko’s uncontrollable laughter continued and soon it had them all chuckling somewhat reluctantly, the conversation quickly forgotten. They spent some more time browsing Junes together before he and Nanako went home, waving goodbye to the two girls.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still just sort of winging this story honestly and I had some difficulty with this part, hope it's still readable if that's a word. Might be the last update until after finals. Thanks to everyone reading and supporting this! I really, really appreciate it and you guys are awesome!

The rest of Golden Week flew by. He made time to hang out with Chie and Yukiko some more, taking Nanako along a couple of times. He hated seeing the young girl left in the house by herself with only the TV for company. Yu also practiced fishing after an old guy loitering around the grassy riverbank taught him some techniques. The fish he caught came in handy for all the stray cats he found wandering around town, a couple had even started following him home. Yu was pretty pleased with this development and used the opportunity to take as many cat pictures as possible, which he immediately sent to Yosuke. Yosuke didn’t quite share his enthusiasm in regards to stray cats and only grudgingly responded about how cute they were after Yu’s pestering. He used the rest of his time to study for the upcoming exams. School was already back in full swing before he realized that an actual visit to Yosuke was long overdue and so after stopping in at the bookstore for a fishing guide, he headed over to the Velvet Room entrance near the shops. Yosuke and Igor were in their usual positions except Yosuke was flipping through a pile of magazines, obviously no longer afraid of hiding them from Igor’s prying eyes. Judging from the pictures, a good majority were music and video game magazines as well as some about motorcycles, of course. Igor seemed to be actively trying to ignore the situation with his usual grin firmly in place and eyes planted on Yu.

“Wel-”

“Yu, finally! Man, I’ve been bored to death here with only the Boss for company, where have you been anyway?” Yosuke asked in a borderline whiny voice, cutting Igor off without a second thought. He was dressed immaculately in his usual blue outfit, the fabric crinkling only where his legs were crossed. He lacked his usual smile, but he didn’t exactly look angry. More like disappointed and something else… Maybe uncertain or apprehensive? Yu didn’t really know, he still wasn’t able to interpret all of the other boy’s expressions.

Yu shrugged, “Hanging out with friends, school, fishing.” Yu held up the book he had just bought. Yosuke looked almost like he had been slapped. His brown eyes reminded Yu of a sad puppy’s and even he could tell that he had somehow upset Yosuke. Yu’s stomach sank at the other boy’s expression even though he was confused, what had he said that had had affected him so much? Did he not like fishing?

“Friends? I thought I was your friend…” Yosuke trailed off in a hurt voice. Before Yu could even respond, Yosuke was forcing out a dry bitter laugh with a wry smile across his face. “Heh heh, I guess you got tired of me already. Don’t worry, I can’t really blame you. I just have that effect on people. It wouldn’t be the first time after all-”

“It’s not like that. I already told you, Yosuke, you are my friend,”

“Hey, it’s no big deal. So what’s up? Is there something you need me to help you with?”

“Yosuke…”

“I’ve been working on all the fusing stuff so I won’t be as much of a dead weight now, I think I’m getting pretty good-”

“Yosuke,” Yu interrupted sharply, moving to stand right over the other boy. He couldn’t stand listening to Yosuke put himself down and pretending like nothing was wrong when it so obviously was. Yosuke’s fake smile disappeared and he suddenly looked nervous and oddly vulnerable as he stared up at Yu.

“Look, I get it, okay? I know I can be a hassle-”

Yu dropped in the seat right next to Yosuke, which caused the other boy’s speech to devolve into sputtering. He was close enough now that he could see the faint blush spreading across Yosuke’s cheeks, the errant pieces of hair around his face. But Yu wasn’t going to be deterred, he needed Yosuke to understand.

“Yosuke, I’ve been trying to give you some space.”

“Uh, r-really? Well, c-could you maybe give me s-some of th-that right now? I’m pretty s-squished over here.”

Yu ignored him and continued, “I didn’t want to distract you from finding your own answers and I didn’t think you wanted my help.”

“O-of course I want your help! I jus-just… Partner, s-seriously, can you m-move over a little? It’s h-hard to-to,” Yosuke didn’t finish and Yu scooted away just enough so that his shoulder was no longer pressed up against Yosuke’s. Yosuke cleared his throat and crossed his arms almost defensively across his chest. “I, uh, guess that works. And, like I was trying to say, it’s not that I don’t want your help, I just… don’t really know what I’m doing yet and I don’t want to bother you with this stuff. I mean, Margaret is already going out of her way to help-”

“Margaret,” Yu muttered to himself, then realizing that Yosuke was staring, “It wouldn’t be a bother to me, Yosuke, and maybe I can help you in a way that Margaret can’t.”

Yosuke’s eyes widened, “Uh, w-well, if you w-want to…” Yu nodded his head firmly. “You really don’t have to,” Yosuke paused like he was waiting for Yu to change his mind, which didn’t happen, “Okay, well then I guess I should just tell you now, I don’t know why I’m here. My memory is all messed up, I can’t remember… some things.” That’s… not what Yu had been expecting. He had been waiting for Yosuke to admit he was some sort of otherworldly being or a Shadow even. He was just a normal boy after all, besides having amnesia anyway.

“Oh,” Yu replied, then after a few moments of silence, “So what do you remember?”

Yosuke gave a dry laugh, “I remember having a normal life, y’know, going to school, working, not hanging out in this weird car with this creep- uh, no offense, Boss!” Igor hummed in response, he had lost interest in the conversation ages ago.

“What about-”

Yosuke held up a hand, “I know you’ve got about a million questions, you always do, but can you put them on hold for a bit? Man, this stuff’s starting to give me a headache…” Yosuke said and rubbed at the side of his head with a grimace.

“Of course, Yosuke. And I want to apologize for not visiting you,” Yu shifted a little closer to Yosuke who was starting to look nervous again and put a hand on the other boy’s shoulder, which jerked beneath his touch. He stared directly into Yosuke’s eyes, “I’m sorry, it won’t happen again.”

“You don’t have to do that, it’s f-fine! Jeez, partner, no need to be so s-serious. I told you, it was no big deal anyway,” Yosuke said to the floor and moved in a way that dislodged Yu’s hand from his shoulder. He was trying to act like it didn’t matter, but the small smile that formed on his face seemed genuine enough. Yu waited for him to speak again. Yosuke finally looked back up, smile once again absent, “Seriously, it’s all good. I might have… overreacted a little… I know we’re f-friends…” Yosuke seemed embarrassed and Yu couldn’t help but think it was cute, which made him smile and then Yosuke’s was back in place. They just sat there smiling at each other for a few moments, ignoring Igor’s pointed comment about the “irrationality of teenage melodramas”. Yosuke looked like he was suddenly struck with a thought, “Oh yeah, so tell me what’s the deal with this fishing stuff and, dude, why am I getting like fifty cat pictures a day now? You’re not seriously keeping all of these cats are you?”

The rest of their time together was spent talking. Yu was relieved to find Yosuke was already over their earlier conversation and talked to him with an easy, happy expression. Yu explained the mechanics of the fishing techniques he had learned and Yosuke at least pretended to be interested, a favor which Yu returned when Yosuke started talking about some recent pop idol drama. He realized it was time to leave when Yosuke showed him a picture of said idol and he saw the time in the corner of the screen read “8:13 pm”. Yu hurried home, hoping Dojima wasn’t home as usual so as not to be caught and trying not to feel guilty about leaving Nanako by herself all evening. It was worth it though, in the end. Yosuke had (sort of) opened up to him and accepted his help. Now he just had to make sure this opportunity didn’t go to waste.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, it's been forever. Life just happened and... well, you know. This story's not dead though and I look forward to working on it more in the future, schedule permitting. Thanks for reading!

Besides making friends with a fox at the local shrine, the week before midterms was mainly uneventful and Yu used that extra time to study and to keep good on his promise to spend more time with Yosuke. He had made it a habit to stop in after school every day, even if only for a moment, usually bringing snacks with him from the nearby vending machines lining the streets. It was almost surprising how easily they fell into a routine: greeting each other, Yosuke already holding his hand out for his beloved TaP soda, sharing the day’s events (“The Boss was boring as usual and he’s been giving off this really weird smell lately- Oh! Heh, didn’t see you there, you really shouldn’t sneak up on people like that! Oh man, please don’t make me reorganize the Compendium again, I'm begging you.”), and chattering away about random stuff while fiddling around with fusions and skill cards. Igor watched their experimentation with the usual apprehension, his hand sometimes visibly twitching from his apparent desire to stop them before disaster struck. They would part with smiles on both sides (with the exclusion of Igor, naturally) and promises to see each other the next day.

  
Yu would always leave feeling refreshed and like he could take on a dozen shadows or study for hours straight, the latter usually occurring once he returned home. Nanako had been diligently helping him out around the house since she had gained an idea of how stressful and painful midterms were on a person from all of Yu’s zombie-like behavior. She had given up on rousing him from his books whenever he was at his desk. The incessant scratching of pencil on paper and the rustle of pages turning were the only discernable noises or movement in the room. The only time Yu’s silver eyes ever wavered from the pages in front of him was to give her a little smile in greeting before his attention once more returned to his open book. She usually just brought him a snack that she placed on the little table in the middle of his room, and quietly shut the door behind her, secretly glad she was still in elementary school and not having to worry about scary things like midterms.

  
After one particularly stressful evening of reviewing some complicated physics concepts, Yu rubbed tiredly at his burning eyes and leaned back in his chair, hoping to take a break from the infuriating formulas he couldn’t seem to memorize. The subject, particularly the formulas, were his weak spot. He had meant to ask Yukiko for some advice or help on the matter, but it had slipped his mind once he actually started talking to her and Chie even though most of the conversation had consisted of Chie lamenting how bad she was going to fail. The girls had offered to study with him, but he had wanted to visit Yosuke as soon as school ended. But with the way things were going, he could use the extra help. Midterms were only a few days away. He felt torn and hesitated a few minutes before snapping open his cell phone. He sent a text to Yukiko, who was unsurprisingly still awake and busy helping with the Inn. She quickly agreed to meet with him at the library after school tomorrow to help him. He sighed a sigh of relief. Now to let Yosuke know…

  
(11:53 pm) I hope I’m not waking you, Yosuke, but I might not stop by tomorrow. I didn’t want you to worry.

  
(11:56 pm) is sumthin wrong, wt r u doin up so late? Dnt u hav skool 2morow? wat happend?

  
(11:57 pm) No, nothing is wrong exactly. Please don’t worry or get upset, I just need the extra time to study for midterms.

  
(11:59 pm) hey whos worryin? wait midterms?!!!! U nevr mentioned tht! geez, prtnr, way 2 leav me outta th loop. Now I feel lik crap 4 takin so much of ur time, u couldve said sumthin

  
(12:00 am) I didn’t mean to leave you out of the loop. I just wanted to enjoy spending time with you, Yosuke.

  
(12:04 am) sheesh, ur so direct… it has been a lot of fun but u still shouldve told me, itll b my fault if u fail! then u will proly end up stuk in the stupid car with me n the boss. Wat a nitemare

  
(12:05 am) Hmm… That seems closer to a pleasant dream than a nightmare to me.

  
(12:06 am) wat?! no offense prtnr but I thnk u got a cupl of screws loose… neway, do u need some1 2 study wit. i mean, i was in skool so mayb I could help?

  
(12:07 am) I would normally take you up on your kind offer, but I already planned to meet with some friends to study at the library. Maybe next time?

  
(12:08 am) o yea, no problem, I wasnt relly serius neway. I kinda suk at skool so jus 4get it. so r these the same friends as b4, the grls? do I sens a romantic devlpmnt 4 th new trnsfr studnt? U shoud shar th dtails w/ ur prtnr ya no

  
(12:09 am) That’s disappointing, I would really like to study with you, Yosuke. No, as I’ve told you before, there’s definitely nothing like that between us. Yukiko and I are just friends.

  
(12:10 am) relly? well I gues u stil hav plenty of time b4 graduatin. but tht taks me bck, a girl I had a crush on ws named yukiko. she turnd me dwn but she ws supr harsh abt it, I stil wndr if sh evn undrstood wat I ws tryn 2 say. Sry, its late so im rambln

  
(12:10 am) It’s okay, I like learning more about you. I am worried that you aren’t getting enough sleep though. But since you brought it up, is there anyone you are interested in at the moment?

  
(12:13 am) o sorry, im praticaly falln asleep. its late n Margaret will kill me if I dnt get mor sleep since it messes with th tests. Goodnite prtnr n good luck wit studyn! C u n a cupl days?

  
(12:14 am) Wait, Yosuke, what tests?

  
(12:14 am) What kind of tests does Margaret run on you?

  
(12:20 am) Goodnight, Yosuke. Sleep well. I’ll see you soon.

  
Studying didn’t go as well as Yu had planned. The lack of sleep was getting to him and he had already snapped two pencils while lost in his own musings before Yukiko wordlessly handed him a slim silver pen. Chie sat at the wooden library table with them griping about how confusing math was while slumped over her textbook in defeat (“And who needs to know stuff like this anyway? Just use a calculator and BAM! Problem solved, it doesn’t take a genius to figure that out.”). Yukiko, meanwhile, had restarted her explanation of calculating centripetal force in her soft and gentle voice, but Yu’s mind wasn’t cooperating. The same thoughts kept churning in his head. Why was Margaret running tests on Yosuke? What kind of tests, did they have something to do with his amnesia? And why did he even mention her after he asked about who he was interested in? Does that mean those nagging suspicions he had about Margaret and Yosuke are true? What are they to each other exactly…? It was no use, he couldn’t figure out any of this without talking to Yosuke and he was still acting dodgy when it came to answering stuff about Margaret. But he couldn’t just sit here any longer. He stood up abruptly, his chair falling to the floor with a loud enough noise that caused Yukiko to gasp and Chie jerk up from her book in surprise. It echoed in the spacious library and attracted some of the other students’ attention, some going so far as to shush him.

  
“I have to check something. Can we reschedule?” Yu asked but left the library without waiting for an answer, leaving Yukiko and Chie gaping after him.  
He was almost out of breath by the time he reached the blue glowing door. Yosuke jumped up as Yu barged in, banging his head against the car window ledge and knocking his hat askew. He rubbed at his head with tears gathering in his eyes.

  
“Partner! Uh, why are you here? I thought-”

  
“Yosuke, who is Margaret to you and what kind of tests are you involved with? Is it human experimentation?” The images of Yosuke’s body floating inside of a tube filled with green liquid had been haunting him since their last conversation. As did the thought that Margaret would be the one to put him there, observing his naked floating body after carefully undressing him… But that was for a different reason.

  
“Whoa, time out! What are you talking about? Human experimentation…? You think…?” Yosuke’s hand had stopped in mid-motion and he looked completely lost. He was quiet for a moment before he started chuckling which then developed into full-out laughing until he was bent over clutching at his sides. His hat completely fell off and his hair was in even greater disarray than normal when he finally straightened back up, wiping at the tears at his eyes. “Partner, where in the world did you get that idea? I mean, I admit, Margaret does make me feel like a guinea pig sometimes, but human experiments? Did you think she was like wiping my brain or probing me or something? You really come up with some strange stuff sometimes,” Yosuke said, still drying his eyes with a bright smile. He wasn’t too far off the mark in terms of the thoughts that had been plaguing him, but Yu probably shouldn't tell Yosuke that.

  
“To think an honorable resident of the Velvet Room such as Margaret could commit foul and indecent acts like that of probing. And on such a worthless subject, preposterous,” Igor scoffed in his corner.

  
“Hey!” Yosuke glared in his direction. “Margaret herself says I’ve been making a lot of progress and that she’s proud of me, so who’s worthless now?” Again with Margaret.

  
“Yosuke, I would appreciate if you would clarify the situation between you and Margaret,” Yu said stiffly, drawing the other boy’s attention away from the squabble that was starting between him and Igor. Yosuke seemed twitchy and reluctant to meet his eyes.

  
“Like I’ve told you, she’s helping me. You know, with my memory and stuff. It’s really not that big of a deal. Heheh, I still can’t believe you thought I was being experimented on though…” a sudden thought seemed to occur to him, “Oh yeah, weren’t you supposed to be studying? What about midterms, dude? I mean, I haven’t been in school for a while, but if I remember correctly those are pretty important.”

  
“I couldn’t concentrate. How does she help with your memory?” Yu resisted the change in subject. He was a little frustrated with Yosuke’s vague answers suddenly. Yosuke let out a long breath.

  
“I don’t see why this is important, but… Um, like with the tests I mentioned and some, uh, I guess you’d call it therapy. It’s mainly focused on my brain and recovering my memories. There are some other weird tests she does with this crystal ball thing that I don’t really understand.”

  
“So how much physical contact does this involve?”

  
“W-what? Not any really. But what does that have to do with any-”

  
“Just curious. How do you feel about Margaret?”

  
“Where are these questions coming from? Are you feeling okay? Maybe you need to take a break, dude.” Yosuke was starting to look concerned. Yu realized he was probably not going about this in the most reasonable way possible.

  
“Just forget it. Would you like to help me study? You did offer after all.” Yosuke looked really confused but Yu gave him a reassuring smile and he seemed to relax. He thought back briefly on Yosuke’s words. There wasn’t physical contact so that meant no undressing… or anything else for that matter. It was still disturbing how close they were and how much time they spent together, but he couldn’t do much about that. Not yet anyway. He could only hope Yosuke’s feelings were truly platonic, but he wasn’t too sure about that either. Yosuke’s eyes always seemed to light up when he talked about Margaret. Yu refused to analyze why exactly it bothered it so much. He knew he shouldn’t care this much about any of this stuff, but a part of him told him it was too late for that.

  
Yosuke ushered him into the cushioned seat next to him and Yu forgot to worry about any of it in such a close proximity to the other boy. When had Yosuke started having such an effect on him? “Yeah, sure, I don’t mind. I should warn you though that I wasn’t exactly at the top of my class.”  
That turned out to be an understatement, Yosuke was behind in almost every subject they went over. Yu ended up teaching Yosuke rather than the other way around. He could grasp the material after some detailed instruction and his obvious pleasure encouraged Yu so they covered quite a lot. They only stopped once Yosuke started yawning, unable to hide it behind the back of his hand. Yu could tell he hadn’t been getting enough sleep, there were faint dark circles under his eyes and he was paler than usual. Yu snapped the book they had been pouring over closed and Yosuke looked at him questioningly.

  
“Let’s call it a night. You should get some rest.”

  
“Aw man, really? I was just getting the hang of this.”

  
“Don’t worry, we can continue another time. Yosuke… don’t you miss school?” The question took Yosuke by surprise but then his eyes became unfocused and he looked somewhat wistful.

  
“Yeah, well not all of it, but for the most part. I miss a lot of things from that time… I already know where you’re going with this and I just can’t go back yet, partner. I can’t until I know…” he fell silent and it didn’t feel right breaking the silence just yet. “Hey, I’ll see you tomorrow, right?” Yosuke finally asked him softly and Yu nodded, gently squeezing his rather bony shoulder before leaving the boy to his thoughts.

  
Midterms eventually went off without a hitch. They were long and exhausting, but Yu found every answer coming to him almost naturally and he was able to remember all of the answers to the pop quizzes given in class that appeared on the test. The memories of teaching Yosuke came back to help him out in a couple of tight spots and created a warm feeling deep in his chest that lasted for the remainder of the test. He was still surprised when he read his name printed in the number one spot. He had outranked the entire class, even Yukiko who congratulated him but obviously didn’t understand how the situation had turned out in such a way. After all, he had been the one asking her for help and spacing out in the middle of studying.

  
Afterwards, the Investigation Team lounged lifelessly near the riverbank outside of school, watching the clear blue water flowing past them and enjoying the sun shining on their faces, feeling free for the first time in ages. That is until their lazy conversation drifted towards the Midnight Channel and the murders. They knew it was only a matter of time before the killer struck again and they knew they needed to be prepared, training as much as possible. Chie was particularly adamant about stepping up their training regimen. Yu readily agreed, hoping that taking action even through training would help him avoid feeling any more anxious or helpless than he already did when it came to the murders. Besides, more training in the Midnight Channel meant more time spent in the Velvet room and, thus, more time with Yosuke. Maybe he could discover the other boy’s true feelings… And just maybe his own as well.


End file.
